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What is terminal velocity?

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Quick answer

Terminal velocity is the fastest speed a falling object reaches, when the air resistance pushing up exactly balances gravity pulling down. At that point it stops accelerating and falls at a steady speed — which is why a skydiver doesn't keep speeding up forever.

Key things to understand

  1. Gravity pulls a falling object down, speeding it up.
  2. Air resistance grows with speed, pushing back harder the faster you fall.
  3. When the two forces balance, acceleration stops and speed stays constant.
  4. Lighter or more spread-out objects have a lower terminal velocity.
  5. A skydiver hits about 200 km/h spread-eagled, far less under a parachute.

People also ask

Why doesn't a falling object keep speeding up?
Air resistance increases with speed until it cancels gravity; once balanced, there's no net force, so speed holds steady.
How does a parachute lower terminal velocity?
It hugely increases air resistance, so the balance with gravity is reached at a much slower, safe speed.
Do heavy and light objects have the same terminal velocity?
No — shape and weight matter. A feather and a stone fall together only in a vacuum, where there's no air resistance.